Praevideat
by xwrite4life
Summary: "The nightmares... they haven't stopped." "What are they about?" Elaina refused to close her eyes and instead looked to the ground. A body appeared on the floor, beaten and bruised like he just walked off a battlefield. She bit her lip and shifted her gaze away from the hallucination. "It doesn't matter. I want them gone."
1. Chapter 1

**Praevideat**  
 _A Voltron: Legendary Defender story_

 _Summary:_ Elaina Blanche, a notorious science teacher at the Garrison, follows her runaway students on an unwelcome adventure of space travel and intergalactic war several light years away from her home. As Elaina struggles to find her place on Team Voltron, she must face her own skeletons and overcome many challenges to finally understand what her purpose is.  
 _Genre:_ Adventure, Friendship  
 _Warnings:_ Spoilers, Minor Mental Illness

* * *

 **Chapter 1  
** _Rise of Voltron Pt I_

The day was still early, but the heat knew no time as it attacked the earth at full force. The trio took shelter beneath the awning of the cabin, but only one wasn't occupied with anything in particular. He sat on the step just staring up at the cloudless sky with his legs kicked out in front of him. The sweat was beading down his face, but he wasn't bothered. He was used to a much more humid climate; the dry heat of the desert was nothing, though he did wish he was by the sea or a pool.

His ears caught it first. A low hum reverberated through the thin air.

"Are you guys hearing that?" The humming was getting louder and louder, allowing the curiosity to build up in the teen. Lance stood up from the wooden step and glanced out at the distance, looking for anything that could be emitting that noise.

"Sounds like a hover vehicle," Pidge stated off-handedly, his eyes never leaving the screen of his computer. He was sitting on the wooden deck, working on something while Hunk sat a few feet away working on his own project. "We won't have to worry about it though."

Lance saw a dirt cloud at the distance but shrugged his shoulders and leaned up against the wooden column with his arms crossed. Pidge was probably right. Even though they did sneak into a Garrison camp, save a man who mysteriously disappeared a year ago, and then run away from Garrison commanders, there was a very slim chance that the Garrison could find them out there.

"Are you almost done with that alien thingamabob?"

"It's a Geiger Counter," Hunk explained, his response a little more focused than Pidge's. He looked up from his work and began flailing his screwdriver around. "I just have to-"

"Okay, okay. Got it. Just get it done, big guy." Lance sighed. This was all crazy. Alien lions. Alien weapons. _Aliens!_ His patience was wearing thin as the determination to out-cool Keith continued to grow tremendously. He wanted to prove how much better he was than that annoying dropout by showing whatever was going on was just in everyone's head was just their imagination.

And was it just him or is that dust cloud getting bigger? At this point, Lance could confirm that Pidge was right, that was definitely a hoverbike. Lance stood up straighter, blocking the sun from his squinted eyes. If he didn't know better, it looked like the bike was heading in their direction.

"Um, guys-" Panic was evident in his voice as his pitch spiked, catching the attention of the other two. Hunk, now distracted, stood up and leaned forward on the railing. Pidge just turned his head to glance at the incoming vehicle before typing away at his computer once more.

"How did they find us?" Hunk wondered, his eyes filled with fright. "What if we get arrested? What if we go to jail?" He gasped and stepped back. "What if they call my parents?" Alligator tears began to fall. "I'm gonna die!"

"You're not gonna die, Hunk."

Lance looked over at the pipsqueak of the group. "How are you so calm, Pidge?"

Pidge shrugged. "Because I don't have an overactive imagination?"

Before they knew it, the bike came to a quick stop a few feet away from the porch steps and lowered itself down. The rider's outfit matched the color of the bike, wearing a tight, dark leather jumpsuit that left little to the imagination. Even with the helmet and tinted visor, everyone could tell the rider was obviously a woman. She tore off her gloves and shoved them into the small pack that was attached to her lower back and started unbuckling the straps of the helmet.

"Are you here to arrest us?" Lance's sense of danger disappeared as soon as he noticed the rider and didn't hide the fact he was checking her out. "Because I wouldn't mind being your prisoner."

The rider hopped off the bike and walked up to Lance. His smirk deepening, pleased with himself. She placed her weight on one foot as she stared at him before reaching her hand up to his face. The teen could feel his heart quicken its pace as well as his cheeks warming up. He was ready to question her actions until he felt a tight grip on his ear, sending a shockwave of pain down his neck. He squealed like a pig as she dragged the teen over towards Pidge and Hunk.

"What in the crow are you three doing here?!" Using her free hand, she lifted the visor, revealing a unique shade of violet colored irises. Lance gulped and froze, just like Hunk did. "The entire Garrison is looking for you! What do you think you were doing sneaking out like that?"

"Ms. B, we have a perfectly good-"

"It was rhetorical, McClain." Ms. B, or Elaina to her friends, harshly let go of the cuban teen and whipped off her helmet, allowing her dark hair the freedom to fall down her back. Her glare never lessened as her eyes landed on the youngest of the three, who was still acting like he wasn't paying attention.

"Wait- How did you even _find_ us?" Lance questioned after he recovered, still rubbing his sore ear. "We're in the middle of nowhere."

Elaina glared at him, "You three go missing while under _my_ watch."

Lance swallowed hard and took a step back. The tension escalated quickly, forcing the three boys still. Their teacher is mad. No, that would be an understatement. Lance could almost feel the heat releasing from the woman's fuming body. Elaina Blanche was in a terrifying rage.

Now how was Lance going to sweet talk them out of this one? The last time someone missed curfew, Ms. B had them on cleaning duty for weeks, and "spotless" did not meet the woman's standards in cleanliness.

The wooden door of the old cabin swung open, the creaking of the rusted spring breaking the tension. Elaina turned towards the door just as it slammed shut to spot a black-haired teen staring back in surprise.

"Kogane's here too?" Elaina said in disbelief. Since when did this group start hanging out? She shook the thought away to keep her mind on track. A meteor fell out of the sky. A surprised mandatory lockdown for all students and personnel. Then Lance, Hunk, and Pidge snuck off during said mandatory lockdown and were missing all night. That was the problem at hand. But seriously, why were they with Kagone? What was she missing?

She panned her eyes to all four boys before she said, "You have five minutes to tell me what is going on here before I drag all of you, including you-" Elaina made sure to point at Keith, "-back to the Garrison."

"You can discipline-"

"Shut it, Lance!" Elaina stared intensely all four boys but received only silence in the end. She took a deep breath in and slowly released it. Yelling at them was obviously getting her nowhere. She rubbed the side of her head, now noticing the exhaustion weighing on her. She took a deep breath and slowly released it. "All right. I'm not mad."

"But you sound mad," Hunk mumbled. Lance slid between the big guy and their terrifying teacher, waving his hand behind his back. Hunk understood and continued his work.

"I'm not mad." The woman repeated tensely. Then she relaxed her shoulders. "But I'm not lying when I said I have to bring you boys back." Her eyes shifted to Keith, the air thickening in the process. She made sure to look over his shoulder rather than his eyes to avoid as much contact as possible. "You should head home, too. Being out here isn't safe, especially alone."

Her eyes picked up on movement inside the shack. Her training kicked in as she grabbed the sleeves of Lance and Keith, pulling them behind her and taking a protective stance in front of all four boys. Her hand dug into the small pouch around her waist and pulled out a handgun.

"What the- Since when did you have a gun, teach?!"

Elaina ignored Lance's cries, and she called out to the mysterious person in the cabin. "I know you're in there. Come out slowly with your hands up!"

A hand gripped her shoulder and attempted to pull her back. Elaina could ignore Keith's action, but not his words. "What are you doing? It's Shiro!"

Elaina's stance faltered. Shiro? No. He was gone. Died on a mission last year. Images of her missing friend scattered her thoughts before recovering.

Then the man exited the cabin, following the woman's instructions. First, Elaina couldn't hide her shock. Her eyes first caught the white fringe that just barely covered his eyes and the deep scar that decorated the bridge of his nose. Elaina took a shaky breath as her eyes continued to trail down, noticing the pale complexion of his skin, before stopping at the strange mechanical prosthetic he sported in place of his left arm.

Her heart was going through a whirlwind of emotions while her head was saying, "This is him."

"Hey there, Elaina." Then the man smiled, the same smile that told her "see you soon" 18 months ago. And his deep, smooth voice… Then Elaina finally gained the courage to look right into his eyes, the windows to the soul her mother use to say. Familiarity overwhelmed her core as everything she had locked away came rushing forward from the day they met all the way through to his departure. Finally, Elaina clicked the safety on and lowered her gun.

"Shiro?" Her throat suddenly lost almost all its function. "That's not really you...is it?"

"It's been awhile." His smile widened as he brought his arms down, leaving them open like an invitation. Her heart clenched in her chest as she took a second look at him. Elaina spent so many months trying to tell herself that she'll never see him again, telling her heart to forget he even existed, and now here he was looking at her as if no time had past. She smiled too and took a step forward.

"It's finished!" Hunk suddenly appeared between Shiro and Elaina, holding out a messy contraption with a toothy grin. He glanced back and forth between the duo before his smile drop and his eyebrows raised. "Did I ruin a moment? I totally ruined a moment."

Elaina let out a silent sigh before turning back to Pidge who was staring back at her with a smirk plastered on his face.

 _I told you so._

The woman gave a nod before turning her attention back to the rest. " _Now_ can someone tell me what the blaze is going on here?"

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  
I'm not sure if I'm going to continue this. I just have it written down and wanted to share it at least. There's still some editing I need to do since I feel I made this chapter very vague and it seems fast paced for this particular "reunion" moment. Not sure, but let me know what you think! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

**Praevideat**  
 _A Voltron: Legendary Defender story_

 _Summary_ : Elaina Blanche, a notorious science teacher at the Garrison, follows her runaway students on an unwelcome adventure of space travel and intergalactic war several light years away from her home. As Elaina struggles to find her place on Team Voltron, she must face her own skeletons and overcome many challenges to finally understand what her purpose is.  
 _Genre_ : Adventure, Friendship  
 _Warnings_ : Spoilers, Minor Mental Illness

* * *

 **Chapter Two**  
 _Rise of Voltron Pt II_

"So, you're all telling me that Kogane had this 'feeling' and found a bunch of cave drawings of a lion telling him something was going to happen and then you fall out of a sky running away from aliens looking for this thing called Voltron."

Elaina had her arms crossed with added weight to each step. The teenagers walked ahead with eagerness, though all for different reasons. She gestured towards the teens before looking up at Shiro and continuing, "Then these kids save you from the Garrison, which I'm still confused about, and here we are in the middle of a desert with a device that can sense the frequency of an alien element that you believe will lead you to this lion, AKA Voltron."

"Yep. That pretty much summarizes it," Shiro confirmed with a smile and Elaina furrowed her eyebrows at his response.

Lance glanced over his shoulder. "Don't forget it was _my_ idea to go in and save Shiro."

"Knock it off, McClain!"

Elaina looked away and massaged her temples, trying to take in everything she just heard. That meteor last night was really Shiro in an alien spacepod. Her three students were curious and chased after it. Then they all run into Keith who takes them all to his shack but not before rescuing Shiro. As crazy as it sounded, Elaina had to believe it all. She still couldn't help but wonder if she having incredibly vivid dream from the stress she's been going through. Or she was on the set some overly-budgeted Hollywood film. Elaina was kind of hoping for the latter, but she'll gladly take either option over aliens trying to kill them.

"I'm getting a reading!" Hunk exclaimed and ran forward with Pidge close behind.

The group followed the duo without saying a word, the only noise coming from the device Hunk made. The beeps were growing more intense the deeper they got into the canyon. Finally, Hunk and Pidge come to a stop. The others rushed over and found the source of the reading. Down a 30 foot drop from where they stood was a small opening on the side of the dry mountain. The hole was big enough for them to walk in as if it daring them to enter.

"So, it's in there?" Elaina looked at the cave entrance in disbelief.

"That's what the readings say," Pidge responded as he placed the device into his backpack. "What are we waiting for?"

"A sign telling me to wake up." Everyone stared at Elaina as she pinched her arms. She felt several pairs of eyes on her and gave them all a raised eyebrow. "You can't tell me that this isn't similar to Indiana Jones."

"Indiana Jones didn't have aliens."

"Actually, the last movie did. With the creepy crystal skulls shaped like the Predator's head and that crazy tomb with a dozen alien spirits saving them from death." Hunk now received the weird looks from the group. "What?"

Elaina waved a hand toward Hunk, "I rest my case."

"Come on. We're losing daylight," Keith pushed, jumping down from the small cliff they were standing on. Everyone quickly follow suit.

Keith definitely wasn't exaggerating when he said he found caves with strange carvings. These walls were covered. The blue lion was the main focus in the carvings with occasional small figures Elaina guessed were humans surrounding it. The rest were symbols, more than likely characters of an unknown language. Elaina was impressed Keith was able to decifer it. The only untouched space was the path beneath the group's feet.

"What are all these?" Shiro was in the same state of awe and amazement as Elaina was in.

"These are the lion carvings I was telling you about." Keith stood in the middle of the cave as watched everyone else get a closer look at the walls. "They're everywhere around here."

Elaina studied the carvings in awe. The precision and smooth markings showed no evidence of age. And there were no chisel marks or mistakes shown in the few that she'd seen. These carvings looked like they were made with modern tools, but how? She glanced back at the entrance of the cave. Not that the cave was difficult getting to, it definitely wasn't easy to find but not impossible. Keith was able to find them, although he found them through a "feeling" he had, whatever that meant.

"Isn't this how that Indiana Jones movie starts?"

"It's how every Indiana Jones movie starts."

Elaina refrained from talking back to Keith, not daring to look at anyone else. Suddenly the carvings began to glow a blue light, brightening up the entire cave. Elaina furrowed her eyebrows. "What the-?"

"They've never done that before."

The ground began to shift right where the group stood, the same blue light pushing through the cracks. There wasn't much time to react before the path completely gave out, causing everyone to fall. They slid down a steep decline covered with rushing water before they all fell into a small reservoir below. Elaina fell on her back next to Lance, knocking the wind out of her.

Elaina wiped her black, now wet, hair from her face and struggled to sit up. She looked down at her motorcycle gear and frowned. The water better now damage the leather.

"I swear if a huge boulder starts chasing after us-" The instructor stopped when she looked over at Lance who was staring wide-eyed, almost speechless, at what he saw.

"They _are_ everywhere."

Then she noticed it. A huge multi-story tall robotic lion sat with hexagonal shields surrounding it. The lion was blue and silver, just like the carvings they all saw at the entrance of the cave. The color was worn and the metal was scratched and damaged. With the size of the lion, Elaina was afraid to ask what it fought with. What the crow did Elaina just dive into?

"Is this it? Is this the Voltron?" Pidge asked after everyone had recovered not only from the fall, but from the disbelief that a huge robot lion that could killed all of them just by stepping on them.

"It must be," Shiro responded, sounding as if he had just woken up from a dream.

"This is what's been causing all this crazy energy out here." Keith stated as he walked forward toward the lion. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk followed with Shiro and a very skeptical Elaina behind them. "Looks like there's a forcefield around it."

"Does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?"

"No." Shiro's face flinched in irritation. Elaina only smirked knowing very well the feeling Shiro was experiencing was her everyday occurrence during class.

"Yeah. The eyes are totally following me." Lance peered at the lion as he started shuffling back and forth to make his point.

"You're paranoid. This thing isn't alive," Elaina said while rolling her eyes.

Lance quickly turned around and narrowed his eyes at the woman. "I'm serious!"

Elaina gave him a hard look and Lance coward ahead. Although she refused to show it, an uneasy, queasy feeling feeling was starting to grow in her gut. Instinct telling her to grab everyone and run.

Keith approached the forcefield first, "I wonder how we get through this." He begins putting pressure on it to figure out a way in.

"Maybe you just have to knock." Lance knocked. The ground beneath the lion begins to glow again and wind starts to cycle within the cavern. Elaina protects her face with her arm from flying debris as a few of the others begin to yell.

Then suddenly, everything stops. Not even a sound was made, but the intensity in the air thickened. Elaina looked around at the others to see if they felt the atmosphere change, but was startled by how each one of them looked spaced out. She was about to shake Shiro out of it when finally they all came to.

"Whoa," all five chorused at once.

"Uh, did everyone just see that?" Lance inquired, sounding unsure himself.

"See what?" Elaina questioned him. What was going on?

"Voltron is a robot. Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!" Hunk exclaimed, his arms twitching with energy.

Elaina jumped in front of Hunk, who didn't bother to acknowledge her, and she looked at him in disbelief. "A what?"

"And this thing is only one part of it! I wonder where the rest of them are." Pidge sounded the most excited, the over-eager teen that he was to learn more about the different.

"This is what they're looking for." Even Shiro was ignoring her.

Elaina leaped back in an angered huff, making sure everyone could see her before asking them, "Will someone _please_ tell me what's going on?"

Suddenly, the lion begins to move. Elaina jumped back while Hunk and Pidge screamed. How the- The Garrison teacher couldn't believe her eyes as the lion stood up and lowered its head. Her guard went back up. There's no way that lion moved all by itself. There had to be someone driving it.

Then the lion's mouth opened. Just like Elaina, everyone hesitated. Well, everyone except Lance. He marched right in like he owned the thing. Panic began to settle in Elaina's gut.

"Lance! Get back here!" she called out, but he ignored her. The other teens walked in with a shrug of a shoulder. Their logic: If Lance didn't die, neither will we.

 _What is wrong with these kids?_ was all Elaina could think. Shiro waited patiently at the entrance of the lion's mouth for her and she sighed.

"First we take the role of Indy, and now we enter the Cave of Wonders." Her shoulders fell in defeat. "This isn't normal."

Shiro let out a chuckle. "As if 'normal' was our thing."

Elaina wanted to laugh, but the growing knot in her stomach prevented it. Her eyes gazed over the lion's head once more and clenched her jaw.

"You know, if McClain touches anything in there, we're screwed, right?" Elaina stomped onto the platform, pinching her arm in the process. Nope, still awake. "He's worse than a monkey."

"I'm sure 'Abu' won't touch anything."

When the pair walked in, Elaina made it blatantly obvious she was checking every nook and cranny for anyone dangerous or suspicious. Shiro was doing the same, but not to the extent as his childhood friend. Occasionally he would hear her remark the impossibility of this "giant flippin' robot" couldn't move without a driver, making him smile. At least she hasn't changed too much.

Shiro was still worried about the extent of her search though. When he asked her if she was okay, all she said was "I'm their teacher. They're my responsibility."

Then they arrived in the main cabin. The four teens were already hovering over the control panel with Lance in the pilot's seat. Elaina sent a glare at Shiro who only sheepishly shrugged before storming over to the others.

She stopped next to Pidge completely ready to start her scolding when she took a closer look at the controls. They weren't physical buttons but holograms. Her eyes widened in awe, completely amazed with the advancement in technology this was compared to the Garrison.

"Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, you know, aware. We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now," Hunk stated, bringing Elaina back down from her astonishment. Finally _someone_ making some sense in this bunch.

Elaina's eyes narrowed once more, remembering why she was angry to begin with and stared down Lance.

"Why don't you listen?" Elaina flicked the teenager's forehead. The teen yelped and rubbed the sore spot gingerly. "There could have been someone on board! Didn't you hear me?"

Lance's eyebrows scrunched. "You said something?"

Elaina's eye twitched as she raised her fist, remembering she signed a waiver that child abuse was a bad thing.

"Whoa. Did you guys just hear that?" Lance forgot all about his teacher's rage and glanced around at the panel curiously.

"Hear what?" Keith asked what everyone was thinking. "Ms. Blanche breaking a blood vessel?"

"I think it's talking to me."

Lance hits a couple buttons on the panel and the lion began to move. Elaina felt the air leave her lungs as she death-gripped the arm of Lance's chair. She wasn't the only one. Everyone was trying to grip onto something stable because the lion's movements were so quick.

Before anyone knew it, the lion jumped up and through the cavern wall. The impact cause everyone to lose their grip on the floor, flinging poor Pidge straight into Lance. Elaina was holding her breath, squeezing her eyes shut. She was going to die.

"You're the worst pilot ever!" Keith yelled, making Elaina even more confident in her inevitable death.

Lance pushed a lever forward and the lion started to flip. Elaina opened her eyes for only a moment to see the desert, then the sky, then the desert again and her stomach dropped. She slammed her eyes closed and bit her lip. Once again, she was awake.

"Make it stop. Make it stop!" Hunk cried.

"I'm not making it do anything. It's like it's on autopilot," Lance explained, acting like he wasn't affected by his poor piloting. As if planned, the lion straightened itself out, allowing Elaina and the rest to relax if only for a moment.

"Where are you going?" Keith asked, obviously not believing him.

Elaina opened her eyes to see the sky once more, ignoring the uneasy jolt that shot down her spine. She was here for her students, she kept reminding herself.

"I just said it's on autopilot!" Lance let go of the controls to make his point before looking back out the window. "It says there's an alien ship approaching Earth. I think we're supposed to stop it."

"What did it say, exactly?" Pidge asking, thinking the same panicked thoughts as the rest. _Aliens?!_

"It's not like it's saying words. It's more like feeding ideas into my brain, kind of."

"And this 'idea' is saying to attack an alien ship coming to destroy Earth?" Elaina clarified, desperately wanting this to be false. She was a strong believer in science and between this telepathy voodoo, robot lions with their own conscience, and aliens wanting to take over the galaxy was making her struggle with her grasp on reality.

"It didn't say that, exactly."

"It's not _saying anything_!" Elaina growled.

"I know! I just told you that!" Lance exclaimed, forgetting who he was arguing with. He was just tired of repeating himself by that point.

"If this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, I don't know, give it to them? Maybe they'll leave us alone." Hunk sounded hopeful, and Elaina agreed. No point in attacking if the weapon was no longer on Earth. "Sorry, lion. Nothing personal."

"You don't understand. These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead," Shiro explained with an authoritative tone. There's been only a few times Elaina witnessed this side of Shiro and everytime it sent chills down her spine. What happened to him? Her eyes casted down to his prosthetic and frowned. Right.

Meanwhile, everyone else glared at Hunk for making such a foolish suggestion.

"Oh. Never mind then."

"The Garrison needs to know about this," Elaina argued, facing away from the oncoming stars. Her eyes locked with Lance's, then Pidge's, before finally Shiro's. She wasn't going to allow any of them to be abducted. "They must have some counterattack for situations like this. Why else would they try to keep Shiro's arrival a secret?"

"The Garrison has something stronger than this lion?" Pidge questioned, obviously not believing the woman.

"They must be able to do something." Elaina shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, they do have nukes."

She then heard Shiro slap his hand over his eyes, and then she noticed the teenagers staring at her with wide, curious eyes.

"The Garrison has nukes?!" Lance cried out, his voice cracking from the shock.

"The Garrison has nukes?" Elaina repeated, just as curious as the looks she was receiving before facing away.

Before the interrogation could begin, the entire group caught motion outside and looked forward. A large, purple ship that made the blue lion look like a tiny insect in comparison appeared in front of them when there was no sign of anything approaching just a moment prior.

Everyone was entirely speechless save for Hunk who always knew just what to say: "Holy crow! Is that really an alien ship?"

Elaina sensed danger now more than ever. Instinct was now screaming at her "Go home! And for the love of science and movies _do not_ _pass go!_ " The instructor should have dragged everyone back to campus when she had the opportunity. There was no chance for them to take down that ship, even with the lion that no one knew how to pilot or if it even had the appropriate weapons for fight with. The lion continued to move seemingly out of reach to get a better view of this flying monstrosity threatening Earth.

"We have to turn around." Elaina was stern as she spoke, directing her comment to Shiro. He was the most experienced out of everyone. He would agree with her, Elaina was sure of it. "We need to let the Garrison know. They'll-" Elaina stopped the moment her eyes reached Shiro's. His eyes couldn't leave the alien ship as his face paled and fear was seeping through his pores. "Shiro?"

"They found me."

Then the alien ship began attacking them.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Thanks for the reviews and favorites! :) I really appreciate it!  
So far it is slow moving. I'm just trying to have Elaina be the more realistic one out of the bunch, next to Hunk of course.  
Feedback and constructive criticism is much appreciated. Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

**Praevideat**  
 _A Voltron: Legendary Defender story_

 **Summary:** Elaina Blanche, a notorious science teacher at the Garrison, follows her runaway students on an unwelcome adventure of space travel and intergalactic war several light years away from her home. As Elaina struggles to find her place on Team Voltron, she must face her own skeletons and overcome many challenges to finally understand what her purpose is.  
 **Genre:** Adventure, Friendship Warnings: Spoilers, Minor Mental Illness

* * *

Chapter Two  
Rise of Voltron Pt III

"We gotta get it outta here!" Pidge cried out to Lance.

"Hang on!" Lance messed with the controls and dodged the lasers. Elaina gripped the seat tighter feeling the pressure of the speed forcing her to the floor. "All right. I think I know what to do!"

"Be careful, man! This isn't a simulator!"

"Well, that's good. I always wreck the simulator."

"You what?" Elaina's head snapped to the teen in question. She thought the other instructor's were kidding when they would tell their tales of the infamous Lance McClain, but she always believed they were exaggerated. Lance wasn't the best student she ever had, but he still worked hard. She quickly turned to Shiro and gripped his shirt sleeve, "Take over. _Please._ "

"I don't know how to pilot this." Shiro made an excellent point, but Elaina was willing to take her chances.

" _Neither does he_."

Lance pushed a lever and a laser shoots out of the lions mouth. He then forced the lion forward, using its claws to damage the external panels of the enemy ship in an ungrateful manner. Then the ship erupted to flames where the damage was done.

"Nice job, Lance!" Shiro praised, smirking at Elaina. She only crossed her arms and turned away in a huff. The kid was lucky.

"I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet." Lance turned the robotic feline around and headed away from Earth.

"Wait." Elaina jumped back. "We're not going back?"

"Those guys will destroy Earth if we do," Keith argued with her, referring back to the last discussion.

"Maybe, but the Garrison-" But what? Elaina knew the Garrison couldn't do anything. She just wanted some normalcy, something familiar. Something not dealing with aliens in a mechanical lion that only Lance can supposedly hear.

"The Garrison isn't going to help. Nukes aren't going to stop these guys-"

"So there _are_ nukes…" Hunk interrupted, his voice revealing the panic Elaina was desperately trying to hide. "Are they underground? Have we been exposed? I'm not gonna grow a third eye, am I?"

Shiro didn't bother with Hunk as he looked at Elaina with worry. "What's going on?"

Elaina shook her head. "Nothing."

"They're gaining on us!" Pidge exclaimed. A hologram screen appeared, showing the rear of the lion like a backup camera. Elaina and Shiro brought their attention back to the problem at hand.

"It's weird," Lance commented, his eyes looking sternly ahead. "They're not trying to shoot us. They're just chasing."

"Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens follow us is good?" Hunk's anxiety was not helping Elaina at all as he continued to voice his concerns. "I am not on board with this new direction, guys!"

"Where are we?" Keith questioned.

Shiro looked around at the stars, being the most experienced out of the bunch. Then with wonder, he finally replied, "Edge of the solar system. There's Kerberos."

"It takes months for our ships to get out this far." Pidge looked outside in amazement. "We got out here in five seconds!"

In front of the lion, a large, transparent purple halo appeared. In the middle was an iridescent mix of colors. Elaina would have found the sight beautiful and the scientist in her made her craving to learn more. Unfortunately the fear of what could happen next outweighed the rest of her emotions.

"What is that?" Hunk

"This may seem crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there." Lance didn't answer, but this lion sure knew what was going on.

"Where does it go?" Pidge's voice was filled with worry.

"I don't know." Lance worried as well. He glanced over his shoulder. "Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"

"Whatever is happening, the lion knows more than we do. I saw we trust it, but we're a team now." Shiro looked over at Elaina. "We should decide together."

Elaina didn't look away from him at first. She wasn't happy with the choices she was given. Everyone else was onboard with hopping through an unknown wormhole, but she most certainly was not. She crossed her arms and refused to answer, knowing very well that the others have ignored her up to this point and they would override her vote here as well. Finally, Elaina crossed her arms and looked away, giving only a subtle nod as an answer.

Lance immediately jumped into action, "All right. Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow."

You know that roller coaster that just takes off right at the beginning? Your body gets thrown back from the force pushing passed you and there's no time to scream because the air completely escaped your lungs? That was the exact feeling of jumping through a wormhole. And Elaina hated every long second of it.

The lion appeared on the other side, and even though traveling through the wormhole took a maximum of 3 seconds, the entire group took a solid minute to recover. Elaina legs almost failed and she almost fell on top of Pidge. Hunk had it worse than the rest and found the nearest empty compartment to empty his stomach.

"So sorry," Hunk apologized.

"I'm just surprised it took this long," Pidge deadpanned.

Shiro leaned forward, almost hovering over Elaina to get a better look outside.

"I don't recognize any of these constellations," he stated, trying to find something familiar to map with. "We must be a long, long way from Earth."

Elaina gasped and took a step back. Her eyes never left the window as her arms began to wind themselves around her torso. Mapping and direction was one of the core lessons in the Garrison. No one was allowed to graduate without passing the course with flying colors, but it was years since Elaina took the class. She won't even pretend she remembered the specifics when it came to the stars, but she knew constellations. Even Ursa Major didn't stand out to her out here though.

In sight was a planet that looked similar to Earth with land and water. There were even clouds scattered across the surface, but the continents were another unfamiliarity. Elaina dug her fingers into her skin until she felt an uncomfortable pain.

"The lion seems to want to go to this planet. I think… I think it's going home," Lance spoke while tightening his grip on the levers. Then on its own, the lion turned on the thrusters and flew straight into the atmosphere of the planet. Everyone was losing their footing and held on to the only thing in the cabin that was stationary. That only thing happened to be Lance. "Guys, personal space. Hunk, you're breath is killing me."

Hunk ignored Lance's comment. "Um, is it just me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole? Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?"

"But it got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance argued.

"I don't know if you noticed-" Keith stood up, letting go of the seat in front of him, "-but we're _in_ an alien warship."

The air pressure in the cabin died down and the lion was straightening itself out again. The others because to let go, feeling the safety in the air, but Elaina's hands were still gripping on the back of Lance's seat, refusing to look out the window..

"Oh, are you scared?" Lance teased.

"With you at the helm? Terrified."

"All right, knock it off." Shiro scolded. "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

"So, what do we do?" Pidge inquired.

"First, we find out where we're headed. Lance?"

"I… don't know. I'm sorry. The lion's not talking to me anymore." His brown eyes widened. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Listen. I think I hear something."

While they all listened to the sound, Elaina was the one to realize it first. Well, her nose did. Not even a half a second longer for the rest of the group to realize the source of the sound.

"Oh my- You are so disgusting, McClain!" Elaina screamed, bopping him on the head while covering her nose and mouth. And she thought having him _in class_ was a hassle.

Lance recovered quickly, smirking at his own gross joke while everyone was still groanin. "But seriously, there's a castle up ahead."

The lion lands with a hard thud, forcing Elaina forward into Pidge again. Elaina had never been more happy to be on solid ground, even if she was on an alien planet.

"So…" Hunk dragged out. "What now?"

"We get out, I suppose," Shiro replied.

"But how?"

 _Good question_ , Elaina thought. Then the lion moved it's head down, the sudden motion causing Elaina to yelp.

"You okay, teach?" Lance asked, not bothering to hide the teasing tone.

Elaina glared at the main control hub, hoping this lion would take the hint. "Just peachy."

The group let the main cabin and back to where they entered when they found the lion. Elaina tried looking around for any cabinets or lockers. There must be suits somewhere, right? She turned around just as the teens started approaching the airlock.

"Stop!" Elaina stood in front of the door with her arms spread out as far as she could, the adrenaline from the flight was still pumping through her veins. "We're on an _alien planet_ and you're all just going to walk out with no suits, _no helmets_ , and expect us to be able to breathe? Are you all insane?"

The sound of the airlock releasing and metal gears shifting echoed in the chamber. Elaina witnessed the room getting brighter and brighter as more panic began setting in. They were all going to die, and it was all because some robot cat opened the hatches before anyone could do any testing.

Lance took in a deep breath and released it quickly, "Seems breathable to me."

The four youngest walked around Elaina who dropped her arms in defeat. Was she the only one with common sense on this… this thing?

Shiro then approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Thanks for looking out."

Elaina gave him a half smile as she watched him exit the lion. She noticed the tensity in his shoulders as he walked away before deciding that she was indeed the only one with common sense.

To say the castle was beautiful would be an understatement. The building was tall with the most extravagant color white that reminded Elaina of her mother's pearl necklace. The white was accented with turquoise stretching all the way from the base of the castle to the top of the towers. The castle didn't look evil, but neither did the witch's house in Hansel and Gretel.

"Whoa." The entire group was amazed at the sight.

"Keep your guard up." Well, all except Shiro.

"Something wrong?" Pidge asked, not sensing the danger Shiro felt, or the danger Elaina felt from the moment they all found the blue lion.

"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again." Elaina frowned at Shiro's comment, her eyes locking onto the scar on his face as he stared at the castle with discomfort.

Suddenly, the lion moved on its own and let out a loud roar. Then the castle began to move, doors the size of the lion opening up and inviting the group inside. Elaina had enough of mysterious entrances and far-fetched scientific theories becoming reality, but she followed the rest inside the castle.

"From the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger," Pidge commented inquisitively after stepping off the final step and entering a larger chamber. A blue light suddenly glared down from above, illuminating everyone in its hue.

"Hold for identity scan," a neutral female voice spoke. Blue halos circled around each member, starting from their feet to their heads.

"Why are we here? What do you want with us?" Shiro interrogated, assuming the worst.

Elaina studied the lights as the reached her chest. Once they made it to her head, the light turned a dark red and the blue light from above quickly switched to red. As if that wasn't enough, a loud siren began echoing in the chamber.

"Intruder," the voice said over the siren. "Danger Level 1. Initiating security protocol."

Then floor beneath Elaina's feet suddenly vanished. Her eyes locked onto Shiro's fear-filled irises before all she saw was the inside of the hole that appeared. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach as she began to freefall into the pit of despair. This was it. This was the end for Elaina. She knew this was going to happen, but nope. She ignored all her fears for the safety of her students and now she was dead.

But… She stopped falling. Something was gripping her wrist so tightly Elaina wanted to continue screaming from the pain. She finally looked up to see five pairs of eyes peering down. The only eyes she paid attention to was Shiro's. He must have jumped to catch her as his body was laying on the floor, his prosthetic holding onto her for dear life. He looked like he was struggling to hold her until he saw she was looking up. Everyone let out sighs in relief.

"I got you." Shiro smiled.

Hunk came over and helped pull Elaina up. When her feet reached solid ground, Elaina wanted nothing more to reach out for comfort. She looked at Shiro and the others and stood up straight.

The lights turned white and brightened up the chamber.

"Are you okay?" Lance approached her.

"I'm fine." Elaina rubbed her wrist and gave eye contact to the teen. She attempted a half smile even though she was feeling quite the opposite. Her heart was still racing in her chest and she could barely keep her breathing steady. She was able to play it off because Lance smiled back.

"I guess we're going that way." Pidge's comment forced everyone's attention to the only new entry that was kept hidden until that moment.

The teens walked ahead with Shiro and Elaina following close behind., attempting to hide any fear and unease from everyone.

 _I am okay,_ she thought repeatedly while occasional "hellos" broke her mantra. She was uncertain why Hunk would want any of the inhabitants of the castle to know they were there, especially after what just happened to her. _I am alive._

"Are you okay?" The question was repeated, but by another voice. Elaina glanced up and saw Shiro staring down at her. He gestured to her wrist.

"I'm fine." But Elaina definitely wasn't. She kept thinking about everything that lead up to this moment: the students going missing, finding a mechanical lion from an alien galaxy, jumping through a wormhole to get away from aliens, _almost getting killed in an alien castle._

"Don't you think this is strange?"

"If you'd ask me two years ago, I'd say yes."

"I'm serious!" Elaina turned to him, keeping her voice just above a whisper. Hunk's "Hellos" echoed through the seemingly endless halls. "We shouldn't have boarded that lion. We shouldn't have flown through that wormhole. We shouldn't be _here._ "

"But here we are. We can't change what already happened." Shiro's voice was calm, but that didn't release any of Elaina's tension. "Besides, Earth would be destroyed if we stayed."

"What if it already is?" Elaina hissed. "We left it alone with aliens that can destroy it in a blink of an eye. What if they got mad we ran off with the lion and took it out on our planet?"

"It didn't."

"How do you know?" Elaina's raised voice echoed through the hall, causing Keith and Pidge to look back. The woman gave an awkward wave and a crooked smile until they turned away. Elaina dropped her hand and gazed back up at Shiro, her voice back down to a whisper. "Well?"

Shiro didn't answer immediately. "I just do. I can't explain it."

"I am a scientist, Shiro. And scientists don't like unexplained hunches."

Shiro let out a soft sigh, "You have to trust me on this one, El." Elaina wanted to. Truly. But after everything that happened so far, Elaina was skeptical. She was even doubting her sanity. The thought made her frown and pinch her arm. "What happened to 'every glass is half full?'"

"You changed, right?" Elaina looked away, her voice soft and uncertain. She could see the subtle nod. "Well, so have I."

* * *

 **Author's Note:**  
Sorry for not having an update schedule on this. I work full time and go to school full time to it's a little difficult for me. I try to give a little buffer so I can post somewhat regularly, but obviously that didn't work. Anyway, thanks for reading!


	4. Author's Note

Hey everyone!

First of all, I am SO SORRY this is an author's note, and not an actual chapter. I hate seeing these in stories and I know it's not technically allowed but I believe this is important for you readers. On a side not, there are spoilers from the San Diego Comic Con so if you are not up to date on the most current season and know the latest exciting news appearing in the next season, read no further. Just know that Praevideat is coming to an end before it had a real chance to begin, but for good reason.

I appreciate all the reviews, follows and favorites from this story and I was really excited to continue the story. I've been putting this story on a small hiatus because I wanted to see more of the direction the Voltron was going in and find out more of the character development between all the characters in the show. That was a blessing and a curse.

The whole reason why I started this story was because one, I really liked Elaina as a character. You guys haven't seen much of her, but I worked really hard on her back story and her development to get her to be her own and even find her place in Voltron without being cliche or annoying. The second reason was because there wasn't much known about Shiro's past. We knew he was the best pilot in the Garrison, looked up to by many, and gave Keith a brother he desperately needed to have. I felt that Shiro needed someone to lean to as well as giving him that storybook happy ending he deserves perhaps more than anyone.

And then SDCC happened. And the creators and writers obviously had that same idea for Shiro but I learned Elaina wasn't going to quite fit that mold anymore considering it was announced Shiro is in fact gay and has a significant other back home. This was an awesome announcement and it made me so happy to see that they created another strong character that's from the LGBT community. I understand this is a fan fiction, but I also like to keep the characters as in character as possible and unfortunately that means Shiro and Elaina are never meant to be.

What does that mean for Praevideat? It means it's discontinued, unfortunately. It pains me and I'm sorry to end it like this, but I promised myself I wouldn't just let unfinished stories lie and not let the readers know what's going through my head. Elaina is no more, and if you'd like some back story on her, you can message me if you wanted to know more details on my ideas with her. I will be creating a new character, probably someone with similar problems to Elaina but with a different background. I'm thinking the new character will be like Elaina's little sister if Elaina had siblings.

Again, I'm sorry to do this to you readers for sticking by. Hopefully I'll see you around when I post up the new one, whenever that may be.

Thanks!  
xwrite4life


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